Apple CEO Tim Cook vowed to increase investment in China, as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing force global tech firms into a delicate balancing act.
Cook, who met with China’s tech minister on Wednesday, notched a strategic win as Chinese regulators paved the way for Apple to release its new iPhone Air next week. Apple’s new investment pledge, though, risks irking US President Donald Trump, who previously blasted Cook over plans to move more iPhone production to India, rather than the US.
Apple still makes the bulk of its phones in China, even as it reduces dependency in other arenas: The company is building a slate of home devices, including a tabletop robot, in Vietnam.